PART 5
Despite his late night with Joey, Pacey woke up really early. Even though he didn't have to go to work, his biological clock didn't register the change, so, instead of trying to fall back to sleep, he decided to get up and cook breakfast while watching the financial news. Joey was dead to the world and while he was always up for some morning nookie, he couldn't bear to wake her up.
After slipping out of bed and kissing her on the forehead, he tiptoed downstairs, as he didn't want to wake everybody else. Once downstairs, he turned Bertha on to the financial news on mute and then made his way over to the kitchen. He hadn't had much time to cook over the last few months because of his crazy hours and he didn't realize how much he missed it until he baked that cake last night. After pulling out the ingredients for French toast, Pacey brewed a pot of coffee as he began prepping.
He couldn't help but smile. Last night with Joey hadn't gone exactly as planned. After hitting her head on the door, he bumped into the dresser. Then, when he walked over to the bed to put her down on it and follow her onto it, his bed frame collapsed thanks to a loose screw he'd forgotten to tighten. As Joey went to his closet to pull out his small toolbox so he could fix it (because a bed was a big part of both their plans), some jeans he had haphazardly thrown on the top shelf fell on her, which resulted in a scream of surprise. After that, they heard the door downstairs bang shut and both laughed so hard they cried at the assumptions their friends must have made.
After they regained their composure and Pacey finished fixing the bed, they ended up changing into pajamas, decided to let things progress naturally between them physically when the time was right, and then read to each other from their book until they both fell asleep. It wasn't the night either of them had pictured or anticipated when they went upstairs, but it was perfect. It reminded him of their nights on True Love. He sighed. God, he still missed that boat.
As Pacey finished up the first batch of French toast, he heard excited footsteps on the staircase.
"Is that French toast I smell?!" Jack asked as he rushed toward the kitchen island.
Pacey smiled. "Yeah, man. Your favorite."
Jack bypassed the island and pulled him into a brotherly bear hug. "Glad to have you back, bro. I've been so hungry without you."
As Pacey laughed, Jack heaped a stack of French toast onto one of the plates Pacey had gotten out earlier.
Jack's excitement must have woken up Andie, who padded sleepily from her borrowed room. "What's all the commotion, Jack? Some of us are trying to sleep here."
Jack didn't even look up from his food. "Pacey cooked."
"So?"
Jack looked up and eyed his sister in a way only brothers can. "Do you know what a momentous occasion this is?! Do not spoil it for me, sis."
Andie looked at Pacey with question in her eyes and he simply shrugged. "What can I say? Jackers missed my food. Coffee McPhee?"
"Yeah, thanks," she said with a smile.
After he poured her a coffee, she sat down and grabbed herself a slice of toast. Pacey couldn't help but chuckle as a moan escaped her lips after she bit down on her first bite. "Holy shit, Pace, this is amazing."
"Told ya," was Jack's smug reply.
Andie rolled her eyes at him and then went back to eating.
David and Joey soon followed, each preparing a plate for themselves. After greeting Joey with a quick but tender kiss, Pacey asked if anyone wanted him to make more.
Before they could answer, they heard keys in the door and Jen popped her head in. When she noticed everyone eating French toast, she frowned and marched over to Jack and bopped him on the head. "Pacey cooks for the first time in months and you didn't call me?"
He looked up at her and smiled sheepishly. Between bites, he said, "I was too busy eating."
Jen rolled her eyes and then made her way over to Pacey. She hugged him tightly and then said, "It's good to have you back, Pace."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Lindley. Do you want your special batch?"
She batted her eyelashes as the group looked on. "Yes, please." Then she looked at Jack and stuck her tongue out.
"What is this about special French toast? And why does she get some?" Jack asked petulantly.
As Pacey began preparing Jen's specially seasoned batch, Pacey answered, "Because Jen's the one who helped me come up with my secret recipe last year."
Once he was done cooking, Pacey made a plate of Jen's batch for himself and then stood leaning on the island next to Joey as he ate. And the group conversed merrily about nothing and everything. It was heaven.
~zzzzzzz~
As Joey watched Pacey interact with their friends, she could tell he was back. His mood was lighter and he smiled more. She knew he was at peace with his decision to leave the brokerage firm and she was happy for him. Although she wished he would have stayed in bed with her this morning, she couldn't help but appreciate the French toast and jovial mood of the house.
Pacey stood next to her as he leaned on the island and ate his own breakfast. As he chatted amiably with the group, Joey placed a hand on the small of his back just because she couldn't be so close to him and not touch him after last night. While their night didn't go according to plan, he'd agreed to another chance and to stop keeping his distance from her physically. She could touch him and kiss him all she wanted, finally. They had decided to wait until it felt right to sleep together by letting nature take its course. While she wasn't ecstatic about that, Joey knew that when it finally happened between them again, it would be amazing. She could wait. Not forever, but for now.
Just as Jen was filling them in on Gram's recent cancer scare, which thankfully turned out to be a false alarm, there was a loud banging on the door. "PACEY! I know you're there. Open the damn door now!"
That was Dawson's voice. What was he doing here? And why was he sounding so pissed?
Pacey shared confused glances with everyone and went over to the door. After he opened it, Dawson stormed in. "How could you let this happen to me?"
"I'm sorry, D-man, you lost me. What are you talking about?"
Dawson looked around the room at all of them and then turned back to Pacey. "I guess you were too busy socializing this morning to pay attention to the top story on the financial news?" Just then, Dawson pointed to Bertha's screen where a news anchor was talking as the Stepotech logo hovered in the upper right corner of the shot.
When Pacey noticed the logo, he walked over to the TV and turned up the volume in time to hear the anchor say, "As we've been discussing all morning, the FDA surprised Stepotech and its investors today by issuing an early ruling denying approval for its next generation flu vaccine claiming concerns around severe side effects. As a result, the stock has plummeted…"
Pacey, who'd been wound tight as he watched the story, let out a deep breath. He turned back to Dawson. "I'm really sorry about your money, man."
"You should be," Dawson spat.
Pacey reeled back. "Excuse me?"
"This is your fault."
"How exactly is this my fault?"
"My money never would have been there if not for you."
"Whoa, Dawson. You came to me to invest your money and I tried to talk you out of it. When I couldn't, you and I agreed together to invest in Stepotech, and yesterday you chose not to pull out of it when I asked you what you wanted to do."
Dawson sputtered at that, but recovered. "You pull your money out and quit the firm the day before Stepotech tanks and I'm supposed to believe it's some coincidence? You knew something was fishy and chose not to tell me when I asked yesterday. That makes it your fault."
Pacey crossed his arms and eyes Dawson. "You're kidding with this. You aren't broke because of me, D. You're broke because you were too busy fishing for information about me and Joey to make a real decision about your money. My reasons for quitting have nothing to do with you losing your money."
When Dawson didn't say anything, Pacey continued. "I'm sorry you lost most of your investment, Dawson, but that's the risk you take in the stock market. You can't blame me."
"I never would have invested in the first place if you hadn't brought it up ."
"Well, I didn't think you even listened when I suggested it. It's not like you have listened to much of anything I've said over the last three years anyway."
Joey and the others watched in rapt fascination as the two went silent and stared each other down.
"It always comes back to that, doesn't it?" Dawson asked.
"The fact that we're both in love with the same woman will always come between us. No matter what I say or do to try and make up my actions from junior year to you, it won't matter in the end because you don't trust me anymore."
Dawson looked down and sighed. "No, I don't."
"Well, then that's that," Pacey said resignedly. "I'm done, Dawson."
"What?"
"I'm over it. I have my own life now, one that hasn't really included you for a long time. I'm sorry you lost your money, but it is neither my fault nor my problem. I'm willing to co-exist with you for the sake of the group, but that's it. Things will never be the same between us and I've decided to accept that and move on."
With that, Dawson nodded in agreement and walked out the door, not even saying goodbye to the group.
"You can't let him leave it like this."
"Jo," Pacey said warningly. "Just let it go."
"You can't throw away everything over me. I'm not worth it."
"Don't you see, Jo? It's already gone. Our friendship was gone the second he found out about us three years ago. He and I have finally acknowledged that. Now you need to. It's not your place to fix it."
"So, what, once again I'm in the middle? I have to choose between you?"
"No. I'd never make you choose. I can't speak for Dawson, though." Pacey took a breath and continued, "But, just to be clear, I refuse to go through this again. I won't play second-fiddle to Dawson and his feelings this time. If this is going to work between us, you need to make our relationship your priority. Can you do that?"
A/N: Cliffhanger Friday. What will happen? Will Joey chase Dawson or will she stand by Pacey and put him first like she always should have done? Find out next...